Kundli Milan: Kundali Matching by Date of Birth

Eighteen gunas out of 36 is the conventional minimum for marriage, and 25 or above is considered a strong match. Below 18, the match is usually examined more closely rather than rejected. The total is only a summary: which kootas failed matters more than the number itself, so read the koota breakdown before you read the score.

Kundli matching can be done by date of birth, but not by name alone. Every one of the eight kootas is derived from the Moon's nakshatra and rashi, and a name carries no astronomical information. Name-based tools look up the nakshatra tied to a name's first syllable, a naming custom that does not reverse: many padas share syllables, and most people were not named by it. Here the names only label the report.

Kundli matching works without a birth time, with a stated caveat. The Moon moves about 13 degrees a day, so without a birth time it can sit in one of two nakshatras. Tick 'birth time unknown' and we assume noon, then tell you on the report how far the Moon could have drifted and which kootas that could move. Bhakoot and Graha Maitri, read from the rashi, are usually safe; Nadi, Gana and Yoni are not.

Ashtakoot Guna Milan is the eight-fold comparison behind the 36-point score: Varna, Vashya, Tara, Yoni, Graha Maitri, Gana, Bhakoot and Nadi. Each koota tests a different kind of compatibility, such as temperament, attraction, health and mental affinity, and each carries a different weight, from Varna at 1 point to Nadi at 8.

Nadi dosha occurs when both partners' Moons fall in the same nadi, and it costs all 8 points of the largest koota. The three nadis are named for the three prakritis, so the texts read it as the same constitution on both sides with nothing to balance it. The texts allow cancellation in stated cases, such as the same rashi with different nakshatras, or the same nakshatra falling in different rashis. The different-pada rule is later practice and changes no score. The report names any condition that applies.

Bhakoot dosha is a zero in the Bhakoot koota, which is worth 7 points and is scored from the count between the two Moon signs. The 2-12, 5-9 and 6-8 relationships score zero. It has recognised cancellations, most often when the two Moon-sign lords are the same graha or mutual friends. Where one applies, the report names the rule rather than returning a bare zero.

Mangal dosha does not stop a marriage by itself. It is judged separately from the guna score, and the classical texts give a long list of cancellations: Mars strong in its own or exaltation sign, Jupiter aspecting or joining Mars, particular house-and-sign pairings, and, most commonly cited, both partners carrying the dosha, which is held to balance it.

Eighteen gunas is the conventional minimum, so 18 clears the bar rather than sitting comfortably above it. What matters more is which points are missing. An 18 built from a Nadi zero reads differently from an 18 spread thinly across several kootas, because Nadi alone is 8 of the 36 and caps the total at 28. Read the koota breakdown, not the total on its own.

Two websites can give different guna scores because they follow different tables, not because one is miscalculating. Sites differ on which Vashya classification they use, whether Tara is counted one way or both ways, and which Nadi and Bhakoot cancellations they honour. Two careful calculators can land two or three points apart for that reason alone, so we show the working for every koota.

Guna matching is a screen, not a verdict. Guna Milan compares the two Moons and their nakshatras; it does not look at the 7th house, the strength of Venus and Jupiter, the running dashas, or whether the charts show similar timing for marriage. A high score with weak 7th houses is a weaker match than the number suggests, which is why astrologers read both charts in full afterwards.